Cheaters
by Damaged Angel Wings
Summary: #3. Cheating was definitely not in the recipe for a happy relationship but she couldn't restrain herself anymore. He was just so damn irresistible. NXM RXH R&R
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice._

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><p>She was in love, and she never wanted to be out of it. It was a great how one look at his face would send her heart pounding, a few sweet words would leave her blushing for hours, and even a little peck on the lips would leave her wanting more. They say that there was nothing like young love, and, though Mikan had never experienced anything else, of this she was sure.<p>

She watched him as he walked around taking the orders of his customer. He was a waiter at the Alice Café, a café at which Mikan had almost every meal. But who could blame her? After all, every time her boyfriend passed by her table he would give her a peck on the cheek or whisper something sweet in her ear. Mikan's best friend never failed to voice her opinion on how 'sickeningly sweet' their relationship was. Despite the fact that Hotaru seemed to despise her relationship she always accompanied Mikan to the Alice Café. Sometimes a whole group of their friends would go to the café just to hang out, talk, and laugh. Though many may say that Mikan was the life of the party, she was never very animated in these conversations. She was always watching her boyfriend with a small coy smile playing on her lips, a fact that Koko never ceased to tease her about. That day it was just her and Hotaru.

"Ruka!" a gruff voiced called from the back of the restaurant, causing Mikan to jump. She always seemed to forget that _he _worked there.

"What is it, Natsume?" Ruka asked as he walked over to join his best friend.

She knew Natsume said something to Ruka for she saw his lips moving, but she was unable to tell what it was. She was dying to know what Natsume was saying to her boyfriend. She hoped that Natsume wasn't telling Ruka what had transpired between them.

"If you want to hear what they're saying you can just ask me," said Hotaru.

"How would you be able to tell what they're saying?" asked Mikan, temporarily forgetting that her best friend was a genius inventor.

Hotaru glared at Mikan. "You truly are an idiot," she murmured before reaching into her bag and taking out a toy spider. "I call it the spy spider."

"How does it work?" Mikan questioned. She was always intrigued by Hotaru's invention.

"I navigate it over to Natsume and Ruka and the spider can listen into their conversation," explained Hotaru, placing the spider on the ground.

As soon as it left Hotaru's hand a foot came down and crushed it. "Are you really trying to spy on us?" asked Natsume. While the two had been examining Hotaru's invention he had walked over to the group and heard their plan to spy.

His face was surprisingly close to Mikan and as soon as she realized this she jumped back in shock. "You okay?" Ruka asked as he appeared next to Natsume, "You seem a little jumpy today."

"I-I'm fine," Mikan stuttered.

Ruka raised an eyebrow but did not comment. "Natsume and I are almost done with our shift. As soon as we're done we're going to go over to my farm. You guys want to come?"

"Of course!" Mikan exclaimed, "I love seeing you around your animals."

Ruka blushed. "I love seeing you all the time," he said.

She grinned at him. He was so sweet. "We have to go finish our shift," Natsume said grabbing Ruka's arm, "Let's go." He always seemed to get grumpy when Mikan and Ruka flirted with each other.

Mikan watched as the boy she loved and the boy she wasn't sure about walked away. She sighed. She and Natsume were great friends. They had lived right next to each other ever since they were toddlers and, as soon as they met, they formed a friendship that Mikan was sure would last forever. Unfortunately Natsume jeopardized that friendship when he kissed Mikan. Mikan was not going to lie and say that she hated every minute of it. In fact, the kiss left her craving another. But she knew she couldn't kiss him again, for she was in love with Ruka.

Cheating is not in the recipe for a good relationship. She already had plans to marry Ruka and live on a farm with him and his animals, their two kids, and one dog for the rest of their lives and Natsume Hyuuga was _not _going to ruin that. But then again, growing up and marrying Natsume Hyuuga was not that bad of an idea. The only problem was that he was an infamous playboy and _she was in love with Ruka! _

"Idiot," called Hotaru, "You seem a million miles away."

"Sorry Hotaru," Mikan apologized. She hadn't told her best friend about the kiss yet.

"What were you thinking about," Hotaru asked. If Mikan didn't know better she would think that Hotaru was just trying to make conversation for Hotaru looked portrayed an uncaring attitude.

"What great a boyfriend Ruka is," lied Mikan.

"He's all you think about these days," teased Hotaru. Mikan noted a hint of something in Hotaru's voice. Of what, she was not sure.

"Well, he is my boyfriend," said Mikan, "And I love him."

"You're too young to know what love is, Mikan," Hotaru said. She was always the rational one, while Mikan was the dreamer.

"You just don't believe in love because it can't be explained by science," said Mikan with a pout.

"I believe in love," Hotaru challenged.

"Then why don't you have a boyfriend."

"Because I don't want one."

"Let me set you up with someone."

"No!"

"Please?"

"I said no idiot, don't make me hurt you," threatened Hotaru.

"Sorry Hotaru. I just want you to be as happy as I am."

"I am happy."

"Really?" asked Natsume, who had showed up with Ruka, no longer wearing his work attire, "Is that why you look so sour all the time?"

"Piss of Hyuuga," ordered Hotaru. Just Natsume's presence seemed to make her angry.

"Are we ready to leave?" Mikan asked entwining her fingers with Ruka.

"Yup," replied Ruka, "Let's go."

"Actually," Natsume said, "I need to go grab something before we go."

With that Natsume ran back inside the café. Ten minutes later, when he did not reappear, Mikan volunteered to go find him.

She found him in the staff room waiting. "I figured you would come and find me," he said.

"How'd you know that Ruka wouldn't have come to find you?" asked Mikan.

"I know you both way too much," replied Natsume.

"And you're really good friends with the both of us," said Mikan.

Natsume nodded.

"Then why are you doing this to us?" Mikan asked.

Natsume didn't respond for a while. Then he said, "I'm not doing anything to you two. That kiss was a mistake." He began to make his way out of the room.

Mikan wasn't sure what came over her. Maybe it was the fact that her boyfriend wasn't in the room or the fact that Natsume looked utterly delicious as he stood before her, but she just couldn't resist him. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down towards her. When their lips met, Mikan didn't feel an ounce of regret. His lips were gentle yet firm against hers. Her hands moved from Natsume's collar to his dark locks, pulling and tugging, while his hands found his way to her hips. They were both desperately trying to get closer. She had meant for the kiss to be slow and sweet, but when Natsume's tongue prodded asking for entrance, she just couldn't deny him. Their tongues engaged in the lovers dance but eventually, due to lack of air, they had to break apart.

Natsume stared at the girl in front of him. "I think I'm officially cheating on my boyfriend," she said.

Natsume just smirked, and without thinking of the consequences, kissed her again.

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><p><strong>AN: Did you like it? Do you think I went into too much detail with the kiss? If you do I can always make future ones less detailed. **

**Review please!**

**~Jay~**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice._

_**Read & Review. I want to know what you think about this story!**_

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><p><em><strong>Flashback:<br>**_

_It was an accident. It wasn't as if they had planned it to happen, it just did. Their parents, members of the society for the richest men and women in all of Japan, were throwing a party, and they were invited. From the very beginning of the night the two were thrown together. They couldn't go anywhere in the party without hearing, "Aw," and "There so cute together. What the party goers didn't know was that they were not going out. This severely annoyed the raven haired one._

"_Why can't they just leave us alone?" she asked. Standing beside her was Ruka, the guy she was forced to spend the night with._

_Ruka shrugged. He was just as uncomfortable with this arrangement as she was._

"_We should leave," suggested Hotaru, the raven haired girl. "Let's go into the hotel."_

_The hotel she spoke of was the hotel at which their parents had booked the party. The party was strictly restricted to the outside picnic area but Hotaru was getting bored of the "picnic under the moonlight." She wanted to have some real fun and her senses were telling her that the real fun was inside the hotel._

"_We can't go there!" exclaimed Ruka._

"_Yes we can," persisted Hotaru. "All we have to do is sneak in under one of the food carts and get out once they reach the kitchen."_

"_But going into the hotel is restricted," said Ruka. Sometimes he wondered how his sweet innocent girlfriend turned out to be friends with an evil master mind like Hotaru._

"_So?" asked Hotaru. She was already looking around for a food cart to disappear under. Soon she picked out a cart and made her way to it. _

"_Wait!" Ruka called after her. He grabbed her hand, ignoring the electricity that pulsed through him at the simple touch._

"_I refuse," said Hotaru, removing her hand from Ruka. "I'm going inside the hotel and you can't stop me. You can join me if you like, but I'm not going to force you to."_

_Ruka was tempted to just let her go into the hotel by herself but he knew Mikan would be very angry at him if he did so. He lived to make Mikan happy. Grumpily, but willingly, he hid himself under a cart with Hotaru. The cart wasn't very big, therefore they had to squeeze together to fit. Ruka could feel heat where their bodies came in contact._

_The cart soon started to move, making its way to the kitchen. Ruka was sure he saw Hotaru smirk when they passed the threshold. The cart was parked by an oven, not that they were aware of it at the time, and, simultaneously, they both peaked out of the cart. Hotaru, being the genius, immediately found away to get them both safely out of the kitchen without getting caught by the kitchen staff._

_Wanting to be as stealthy as possible, Hotaru refused to speak to Ruka. Instead, she took out her phone and texted him._

"_This is not a time for you to be texting," Ruka whisper-yelled to Hotaru, not realizing her plan. _

_She held a finger to her lips, signaling for him to shut up. A couple seconds later Ruka's phone buzzed._

There's a hallway by the door. As soon as they wheel the cart close to the doorway jump out. Don't let them catch you_, the text read._

"_This is never going to work," Ruka mouthed._

Sorry_, Hotaru texted, _I can't read lips.

_Ruka was about to take out his phone to text her back when the cart began to move. _I can't believe I'm about to do this,_ He thought as he jumped. _The things I do for Mikan.

_After he jumped he somersaulted out of sight of the kitchen workers. He was glad that no one seems to have seen him. He turned his attention from the kitchen workers to Hotaru. She was straightening her clothes and her hair._

"_Well that was fun," she muttered._

_Suddenly they heard a kitchen worker say, "I'll go check in the hall."_

_They heard his footsteps get louder and louder, and Hotaru, thinking fast, grabbed the front of Ruka's shirt and brought his lips down for a kiss._

_The kitchen worker saw them and shook his head. "Young love," Her mumbled before walking away. _

_One would think that since Ruka had a girlfriend he would have pulled away as soon as the kitchen worker left. He didn't._

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><p>"I'm going to go see what's taking Natsume so long," said Mikan before making her way into Alice Café.<p>

As soon as she left an awkward silence enveloped the two teenagers. Hotaru and Ruka hadn't talked about the kiss. In fact they hadn't talked at all since that night. There was something bothering Nogi though. Something that he had to ask.

"About the kiss," he started, "Why did you continue to kiss me after the kitchen worker left?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said. For a smart girl, Hotaru was great at playing dumb.

"Are you going to pretend the kiss didn't happen?" Ruka asked. He felt as if he was talking to a wall. She was so expressionless and indifferent. The exact opposite of Ruka.

"The kiss meant nothing to me," Hotaru lied, "I kissed you because I had to not because I want to."

As soon as she said that Ruka began to experience a feeling he hadn't before. It was nothing like the emotions he had experienced with Mikan. It was _desire._

Blushing, Ruka ordered, "Prove it."

"How?"

"Kiss me then look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel anything."

"I don't know if you realize this but you're going out with my best friend. We are not going to hurt her," snapped Hotaru.

"I know," muttered Ruka, "I really don't want to hurt her, but I want- I want."

Hotaru seemed to know exactly what he meant for she said, "I do too," She must have been unsure of her words, for had she been sure she would have taken them back immediately.

"Then kiss me."

With that, hormones took over and the two kissed for the second time. They forgot for a minute that they were standing in the parking lot of the Alice Café and just got lost in the taste of each other's mouths.

When they broke apart for air, Ruka rested his forehead on Hotaru's and said, "I either need to break Mikans heart or cheat on her."

"We can't break her heart," murmured Hotaru.

"So, I'm cheating then?" asked Ruka. The words felt pungent on his tongue. He was not the cheating type.

Hotaru wanted to say yes, but she knew cheating would also lead to the eventual shattering of her best friend's heart.

She looked into Ruka's beautiful blue eyes, and, for the first time admitted, "I don't know."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry, no Natsume this chapter. While I was writing Ruka, I realized that he started to act a bit too much like Natsume. I had a lot of editing to do. Anyway, please review! I love the idea for this story and I want to know if you do too.**

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><p><em><strong>Replies to Reviews: <strong>_

_**pinkpocket23: Don't worry. There'll be a lot more MXN and HXR than MXR.**_

_**GAKUENALICEROCKS: She doesn't want to be a cheater either, but she has to or there will be no story.**_

_**AnimeBrat03Freak: PM me your plot! If it's too much trouble then I can give you my email. I was hoping that people would think that Natsume was her boyfriend first so I'm happy .Oh and you can start writing, just as soon as you've got a general idea of what your story is going to be like. **_

_**Ancie: I'm always very self conscious about my kiss scenes so thanks for the comment! When are you going to update your story? I feel like I've been waiting forever.**_

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><p><strong>Hope you liked the chapter. I edited this while listening to Last Friday Night by Katy Perry, so don't blame me for any mistakes. <strong>

**Review!**

**~Jay~**

**~Jay~**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice._

_**Read & Review**_

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><p>She was always the good girl. He did not want to break his best friend's heart. Yet there they were, sitting in Ruka's car, stealing gazes of each other through the rear view mirror. Mikan sat in the front passenger seat beside Ruka. When she wasn't stealing glances at Natsume she was watching Ruka as he fixated his eyes on the road. She wanted nothing more than to tell him everything and apologize profusely, but she was too scared he would break up with her. The last thing she wanted to do was break up with him.<p>

_Then why are you cheating on him? _asked a little voice from the back of her mind.

Mikan didn't know how to answer the question. She had no idea why she couldn't resist Natsume. It might have something to do with his well toned body, his gorgeous crimson eyes, or maybe his raven hair that left Mikan wanting to run her finger through it for hours. Whatever the reason, it over powered everything Ruka had to offer. Sure Ruka was cute, flirtatious, and sweet, but there was something about Natsume that no girl could resist. Even Mikan who had seen him with morning breath, unruly hair, and red, blotchy, crying eyes couldn't resist him.

All she could think of as Ruka parked the car and walked over to the passenger side to open the car door for her was how she _had _to break up with him. She couldn't do it anymore. She wanted to be in an open relationship with Natsume. She was too busy thinking about Ruka to notice that he sneaked a small smile at Hotaru.

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><p>Damn. Ruka just couldn't focus on the road. It was all Hotaru's fault. She was sitting in the back seat of the car stealing glances at him through the rear view mirror. He almost forgot that Mikan and Natsume were in the car. Then Mikan started to watch him. She did that a lot when he drove. She would also run her fingers through his hair, touch his arm, and give him a kiss on the cheek, anything to get the physical contact they both craved. This time, however, she just stared at him. He noticed her glancing up at the rear view mirror occasionally. He figured that she wouldn't be staring at Natsume so he immediately jumped to the conclusion she was looking at Hotaru.<p>

She would look at Ruka, then back up to Hotaru. _Oh crap! _Ruka thought. _She must have found out I was cheating._

He almost pulled the car over and apologized to Mikan. Fortunately he stopped himself from doing so by thinking rationally. If Mikan had known that he was cheating on her with Hotaru she would have made a fuss about it. After all she was Mikan Sakura and she made a fuss about everything.

After parking his car in his drive way Ruka walked over to open Mikan's door. While doing so Hotaru had gotten out of the car. Unable to restrain himself he smiled at her. Mikan seemed too lost in her own world to notice that. The group of four made their way to the stables behind Ruka's house.

"So Mikan," Ruka started, "Do you want to go for a ride today?"

Mikan and Ruka often spend a lot of time with Ruka's horses. They loved taking care of the horses together, whether they were riding or grooming or feeding them.

Mikan looked down at the skirt she was wearing. "I don't think I'm dressed for that Ruka," said Mikan.

"I want to go for a ride," announced Hotaru. Her face was as expressionless as ever.

Ruka had to refrain from grinning. "Okay, you and I'll go for a ride," said Ruka. He then turned to his cute brunette girlfriend, "I hope you don't mind staying here with Natsume."

"I don't mind," said Mikan with a smile.

"Okay," said Ruka, placing a small kiss on Mikan's lips. "Hotaru and I will be back before you know it."

Natsume mumbled something Ruka didn't quite hear so he asked, "What did you say Natsume?"

"Nothing," he replied.

Ruka turned from the raven haired guy to the raven haired girl. "Let's go in the stable," he said. The two disappeared into the stable, leaving Mikan and Natsume alone with each other.

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><p>Mikan seemed to have been the only one to hear Natsume's comment. After Ruka told her that he and Hotaru would be back before she knew it Natsume had mumbled, "Take your time. I'm sure Mikan and I can find . . . activities to preoccupy our time."<p>

As soon as Ruka and Hotaru left Mikan hit him on the arm.

"Ow," Natsume said. Truth be told, it did not hurt him one bit. "What was that for?"

"What if he had heard you?" she asked.

"Don't worry Polka, I'm not that careless. I'm not the one that couldn't resist stealing glances at me in the rearview mirror."

Mikan fumed at her earliest childhood nickname. "You were doing it too!" she exclaimed, "And I told you never to call me that. Sometimes you are just so annoy-"

Before she could finish, Natsume silenced her with a kiss. She immediately pushed him off.

"What if they're still in the stable you idiot!"

"Relax Polka," said Natsume. "Didn't I just tell you that I'm the careful one?"

"Don't call me that!" she yelled.

He smirked and moved to kiss her again.

She moved out of his way.

He gave her a disbelieving look. Why was she suddenly moving away from his kisses? Last he checked she loved when he kissed her.

"If you keep calling me polka, I'm not going to let you kiss me."

He glared at her, determined not to give in. Then she started licking her lips. The pink muscle glided over her top lips, then her bottom lips, and then finally she captured her bottom lips between her teeth. Natsume watched captivated.

"Fine," he growled. "I'm sorry _Mikan._"

He watched as his signature smirk played on her lips. It was the same smirk he had given her many times before. "You better be," she said before capturing his lips with hers.

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><p>"So which horse do you want to ride?" asked Ruka as he and Hotaru walked into the stables.<p>

"None," replied Hotaru. She took his hand and dragged him out of the stable. She didn't want Mikan and Natsume to hear them.

"What are you doing?" Ruka asked. He was so naïve.

"I didn't want to go for a ride Ruka," she replied.

"So what do you want to do?"

Hotaru resisted the urge to slap him over the head. "Sometimes you're almost as dense as Mikan," she said. She then got on her toes and placed a small kiss on his lips.

Ruka smiled against her lips before gently kissed her back.

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><p><strong>AN: Yay! I got 8 reviews last chapter! Thank you guys so much! So did you like this chapter? Do you have any suggestions on how I can make this better. I'm not done with the plot yet and I need help. Please tell me what you think!**

**I have to do summer assignments so I have no time to reply to your reviews. Damn AP History, AP Biology, and Honors English. I swear I'm going to die next year :(**

**~Jay~**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I've been having major, and I mean MAJOR writers block on this story. I had a whole 14 or so chapters plan for this story but now it's only going to be 5. This chapter is short and I apologize but I wrote this at 1 am in the morning. I was tired! Anyway, this is for my lovely reviewers. I know you probably hate me for taking so long to update.**

**~Jay~**

_I did not own Gakuen Alice last chapter so I certainly do not now._

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><p>"Hotaru," Mikan whined. "I feel like I never see you anymore."<p>

It had been two weeks and the cheating had persisted. Mikan was spending more and more time with Natsume and a lot less time with Ruka and Hotaru. Not that Ruka and Hotaru cared, for it meant more time spent together. Mikan, on the other hand cared a great deal. She felt like her friendship with her best friend was slowly dwindling. She had always told her best friend everything yet she had not known about her and Natsume. She was astonished at the state of their relationship. With drastic efforts she managed to find a way in which she and Hotaru could strengthen their friendship. It was the oldest trick in the book. All Mikan had to do was simply to have a sleep over. If Hotaru, Mikan, and all her friends were to hang out it could restore the hole that had found its way into their friendship. Everyone readily agreed to going to the party.

Friday night came along and Mikan got ready to host the ultimate slumber party of all times. Hotaru, being the one that had lived the closest to her was the first to arrive.

"I'm so excited!" Mikan squealed as she greeted Hotaru at the door.

"How many times must I tell you not to yell?" Hotaru asked slightly annoyed.

Mikan shrugged. "Just keep telling me and maybe one day I'll listen," she said grinning from ear to ear.

The next to arrive was Anna and Nonoko. Every where they went they went together and it was no surprise to everyone that they showed up in matching pajamas. "Mikan, I'm so excited!" exclaimed Anna.

"I am too!" squealed Nonoko. "This is going to be the best night ever.

The final two to arrive was Usagi and Sumire. They always liked to be fashionably late so everyone assumed that's where they were the last to arrive. As soon as they arrived all the fun started.

The first thing the girls did was turn up Mikan's stereo as loud as it could go and danced around the room like mad women.

After they danced they decided to play a little game. The object of the game is to share the best secret. A secret no one would know about. Mikan usually lost these games but she knew that, that night, she was going to have the best and most astounding secret. Anna was the first to reveal one of her many secrets.

"I almost killed my parents," said Anna.

Everyone in the group turned to look at skeptically. "How did you almost kill them?"Mikan asked.

"They asked me to make them lunch. I was planning to prepare something fancy and because of that I had very little time to look at the labels of the spices I had placed in my dish. It turns out that I put poison in instead of cinnamon in the desert. Luckily my dog stopped my parents from eating it at the last minute."

"Why do your parents have poison in their house?" asked Hotaru. She didn't seem to believe the tale.

Anna went for the obvious answer, "Because they want to."

Hotaru gave Anna a disbelieving look but did not say anything.

Sumire was next. She looked at all of us, cleared her throat and began talking. "I think I like Kokoro Yome," she confessed.

No one commented. Of course she liked Koko. She had a crush on him from he was little so it was only expected for her to still have feelings for him.

Mikan decided to follow Sumire. That was such a bad idea. Taking a deep breath she looked at her friends and said, "I'm cheating on Ruka." They all looked at her shocked. Mikan wasn't the type of girl who cheats and break people's hearts.

As soon as Mikan said it, it felt like a major weight was lifted off her chest. She couldn't believe she had kept that secret bottled up inside her for so long. All of her friends responded as she had presumed they would, except for Hotaru.

"You what!" she exclaimed. Hotaru was genuinely shocked at Mikan's secret. She thought she and Ruka were the only bad ones.

"I-I'm cheating on Ruka," Mikan responded. She had never seen Hotaru get worked up over something so trivial.

"Well that's surprising," muttered Hotaru, "Considering Ruka's cheating on you." Hotaru hadn't even thought about what she was about to say before she said it. This was incredibly unusual for Hotaru but when it came to Ruka everything she did was incredibly unusual.

"No he isn't," said Mikan. Hotaru failed to hear the hint of desperation in her voice. She wasn't aware that her best friend was still in love with the guy she was cheating on

"Yes he is," retorted Hotaru.

Mikan immediately went on the defense. "Ruka loves me!" she exclaimed. "He would never cheat on me!"

"Well I happen to know that he is."

The girls watched as the best friends argued back and forth. It was strange to see them bickering, for, though the often bickered over small trivial things they never once bickered about Mikan's love life.

"I know Ruka better than you ever will so I think I should know if he was cheating on me or not!"

Hotaru, not willing to admit defeat, pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" asked Mikan.

"Proving a point," replied Hotaru.

She put her cell phone on speaker so everyone could hear. After the first ring the person picked up.

"What's up?" came a voice from the other end that was unmistakably Ruka's.

"Mikan's cheating on you," Hotaru stated.

"What!" yelled Ruka.

Mikan glared at her best friend. Why would she tell Ruka? The whole point of the secret sharing game is to be able to share secrets and know that your friends will never tell anyone.

"Tell her that you're cheating on her," ordered Hotaru.

"Is the phone on speaker?" asked Ruka.

"Yes," replied Hotaru. "Now tell her."

"Mikan?" Ruka's voice sounded sad and distant.

"Ye-Yea?" asked Mikan.

She was afraid of what he would tell her.

"I'm cheating on you with Hotaru," he said.

At that moment everything in Mikan's world fell to pieces. Even though she had cheated she couldn't believe that Ruka would cheat. Ruka loved her! They had the perfect relationship. They were supposed to grow old together then one day, while sitting on the front porch of their house they would tell their grandkids about how they fell in love. All her dreams were shattered. Sure she had Natsume but Natsume was a bad boy. Could she really imagine herself growing old with a bad boy? And what would her family be like when she was finally old enough to have kids? If she didn't have someone as kind and caring as Ruka by her side how would she manage? She knew she should have thought about all these things before she decided to cheat on Ruka, but there was no going back now. There was only one way she knew how to fix things.

She ran to the bathroom with her cell phone in her hand and dialed the one number she had memorized over the past few weeks.

His gruff voice came on the other end.

"Hello?" he answered.

"I can't do this anymore," Mikan said.

"Do what?" asked Natsume. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't cheat on Ruka anymore and I know he's cheating on me with Hotaru-"

"Wait, what!" Natsume exclaimed.

Mikan ignored him and continued. "But I'm going to do everything in my power to get him back."

"Mikan don't do this," Natsume begged.

"Sorry," she said apologetically before ending the call.

She walked out of the bathroom to find her room deserted. Everyone was gone. Everyone except Hotaru.

"Where is everybody?" Mikan asked.

"I sent them home," replied Hotaru. "We need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

**I DON'T OWN GA**

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><p>All Mikan could think about was getting Ruka back. She fared Hotaru would intercept all plans she made now, and in the near future, to get the blond boy back. She had to be smart when making all plans.<p>

"You're not getting Ruka back," said Hotaru. It was very surprising how much she knew Mikan.

"What are you talking about?" Mikan asked feigning innocent.

"Don't play dumb Mikan. I know you want him back but you're not getting him," stated Hotaru.

Mikan started to stutter, "Wh-Why not?"

"Because I'm right for him and you're not."

"How would you know that?"

"I've heard how you talk about him Mikan and I've seen how you look at him and I know that what you're feeling isn't a fraction of what I'm feeling."

"I love him!" Mikan exclaimed.

"No," said Hotaru. "You love the idea of him being your prince charming and your life ending in a happily ever after."

"How would our relationship have lasted this long if we didn't love each other?"

"Because both of you were fooled by society that it was really what you wanted," replied Hotaru. She seemed to have the answer to everything and Mikan didn't like that.

"What makes you think that you love him?" asked Mikan. She was sure Hotaru wouldn't have an answer for that one.

"The fact that I betrayed my best friend for him. The fact that the guilt of hurting you, the person I love the most, wasn't enough to break us up," replied Hotaru.

Mikan wasn't sure how to respond to that. She loved Hotaru like a sister and, though it wasn't very obvious, Hotaru loved her too. She knew that Hotaru was right but she just wasn't ready to give up on Ruka.

"Listen," began Hotaru. "Whoever it was that you cheated on Ruka with, go ahead and date him. I'm not saying that you and this person will live happily ever after but he might get you one step closer to finding your one true love. I'm convinced I've already found mine, and there is nothing I want more than for you to find yours."

With that Hotaru stood up and made her way to the door. She paused before her hand reached the door handle. "Don't try calling Ruka," she warned. "He won't answer."

* * *

><p><strong>Two Weeks Later<strong>

* * *

><p>"So, have you spoken to Mikan lately?" asked Ruka as he sat with his girlfriend, watching her do numerous activities on her computer. It was as if she was always busy. All the blueprints for her genius inventions were stored on her computer, and, like any good artist, she always took time admire, remodel, and improve all her art work. He often wondered why she was still in college. What business does a genius twenty one year old like her have in such a small town?<p>

Hotaru shook her head, engrossed in whatever blueprint she was revisiting.

Ruka hadn't heard from Mikan either. For the first two days she called him every hour and, since Hotaru ordered him to ignore them, left the same voicemail on his phone. "I miss you," the voicemail would always say. "I'm sorry." She always sounded like she wanted to add more but then thought better of it and turned off the phone.

"When I spoke to Natsume, I think it was three days ago, he said that hadn't heard from her either," said Ruka.

Hotaru looked up surprised. It hadn't taken her very long to find out that Natsume was the one Mikan cheated on Ruka with, but why they haven't been in contact puzzled her.

"Natsume says that every time he goes over to her house she's always busy," explains Ruka. "And she's been avoiding everyone at school too. Should I be worried?"

His girlfriend looked back at her computer screen. Mikan wasn't just some machine whose movement she could predict. "Hand me your cell phone," she ordered.

Ruka willingly held out his phone. Hotaru, taking the phone, dialed Mikan's number. It rang without an answer.

Hotaru sighed. Obviously Mikan wasn't answering her cell so she tried the home phone. On the second ring one of Mikan's maids answered.

"Ruka?"

"No," Hotaru replied. "It's Hotaru. Where's Mikan, I need to talk to her."

"She's busy," said the maid.

"I don't give a crap," Hotaru snapped. "Give her the phone."

The line went silent. Hotaru smirked, thinking that she would get to talk to Mikan. Unfortunately, it was the same voice that spoke.

"We don't know where she is."

"What do you mean?" asked Hotaru. She could hear the seriousness in the maid's voice. This was no joke.

"She left two days ago leaving a note that said, 'I might be back.' I've been hiding that from everyone telling them that she wasn't in the mood to talk or see anyone. I don't know how long I can keep this up." The maid's voice broke.

And Hotaru sucked in a breath. "I'll find her!" Hotaru said. With that she ended the call. She jumped off her bed and grabbed her coat. "Come on, Ruka," she started. "We need to find Mikan."

Ruka gave her a confused look, but there was no time to explain, she would have to explain in the car.

* * *

><p>Mikan looked at the man in front of her. "Listen honey," he started to stay. "You can't stay here all night." He was in his thirties with a potbelly and mustache that looked like some sort of dead animal.<p>

She was sitting in an old, cozy café drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Truth be told, she had no idea where she was. She had given the bus driver thirty dollars and told him to take her anywhere. She couldn't take it anymore. There was no pain. She didn't regret cheating on Ruka. What kind of person was she?

"Okay," she said. "I'm just waiting for my friend to get out of the bathroom, and then I'll go."

The man nodded, seemingly content with the answer. A minute later a tall dark figure came over and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Ready to what?" She questioned curiously.

"Go," he answered.

"Do we have to go home?"

"Never."

"My parents are going to be worried, Hotaru and Ruka are going to be worried," she said as they made their way towards the door. As soon as the cold air hit them she shivered and held on to her companion. He was always a good source of warmth.

"Then why'd you leave?" he asked.

"Because back there, Ruka is my prince. He and I should've had two kids, a golden retriever, and a baby blue house with the white picket fence. But I don't love him…" she paused to take in her surroundings. They were in an empty town in the middle of nowhere. All they had was the clothes on their backs, two hundred dollars in cash, and, most importantly, each other.

"I love you," she finally said. "Let's find a home somewhere, where you are my prince."

Natsume looked down at her and smiled. They had a hard road ahead of them but at least they had each other.

"Sometimes," he said, his voice distant and dreamy, "cheaters do win."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Was this totally unexpected? It was to me. I changed the ending at the last minute. I know it's been forever since I updated (any of my stories really) but I finally have an updating schedule together. Anyway, this is the last chapter of Cheaters. If you want an epilogue I will write one. No sequel for this, sorry :( Anyway, review please!**

**~Jay~ **


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